[JM-Del-Potro]

I lost 6-0 6-0 in my first tournament 4 months ago...my opponent was very tall...he served very strong,and we were playing on clay
But I also had 3 break points when he was 6-0 2-0 up

I played very bad,although I couldn't have win anyway,but losing that way
My shot were always sliced shot,I forced them few times in the match...

Instead I played at least better in a tournament in August..the result didn't change so much,lost 6-1 6-0,but I threw away the second set...I lost my serves being up 40-15 for twice in a row and then,on 0-4,from 40-0...
my opponent played very good,and me too,but I could do better!

P.S. I wasn't supposed to start this year with tournaments,so next year I'll sure win some matches

[Bernard Black]

Originally Posted by JM-Del-Potro

I lost 6-0 6-0 in my first tournament 4 months ago...my opponent was very tall...he served very strong,and we were playing on clay
But I also had 3 break points when he was 6-0 2-0 up

I played very bad,although I couldn't have win anyway,but losing that way
My shot were always sliced shot,I forced them few times in the match...

Sounds like you gave it a good effort though! I can relate to the slice thing. Whenever I play against players of a higher standard I'm fine at dealing with their power and spin, and heavy serving, it's the placement and consistency of their shots that kills me though. They have me constantly on the run and I can't get any power on my shots when I can only just get the edge of my racquet on the ball each time, it means I have to constantly resort to slicing, even on the forehand and there's only going to be one winner in that situation.

On a positive note, had a match today and I seem to be returning to some sort of form. Played much more relaxed, actually really going for my forehand instead of holding back, I figured if I'm going to miss it would be more satisfying to hit the back fence than dump the ball into the bottom of the net. Also tinkered with the backhand a bit going for many more topspin returns than I would usually, considering I was facing a lefty hitting the serve with tons of slice, I'm quite pleased I timed all the returns well and got them hard back at his feet.

All in all, happy with the progress

[JM-Del-Potro]

Originally Posted by TidusZidane

Sounds like you gave it a good effort though! I can relate to the slice thing. Whenever I play against players of a higher standard I'm fine at dealing with their power and spin, and heavy serving, it's the placement and consistency of their shots that kills me though. They have me constantly on the run and I can't get any power on my shots when I can only just get the edge of my racquet on the ball each time, it means I have to constantly resort to slicing, even on the forehand and there's only going to be one winner in that situation.

You understood the situation

Another problem for me was playing on clay for just the second time in my life
I've always played on hard and I've problem with clay's bounce,especially on forehand

Now I'm working on my backhand(it was my best shot,now I don't know how to play it )

What I would need is just some cms more,I'm just 1.62m

[Bernard Black]

Originally Posted by JM-Del-Potro

You understood the situation

Another problem for me was playing on clay for just the second time in my life
I've always played on hard and I've problem with clay's bounce,especially on forehand

Don't worry, you're not the only one! The movement on clay is a nightmare for anyone who hasn't grown up playing on the surface, and that includes the pros even. I'm just glad no one has filmed my futile attempts at sliding around on the clay and probably looking retarded Luckily nearly all fast carpet and hardcourt where I live though, where I'm much more at home!

[JM-Del-Potro]

Originally Posted by TidusZidane

Don't worry, you're not the only one! The movement on clay is a nightmare for anyone who hasn't grown up playing on the surface, and that includes the pros even. I'm just glad no one has filmed my futile attempts at sliding around on the clay and probably looking retarded Luckily nearly all fast carpet and hardcourt where I live though, where I'm much more at home!

But I could have the game to play very well on clay,I run very much and my game sometimes is just to keep ball in

On hardcourt I could go at the net often,although I'm not tall,I play good there

[adee-gee]

Originally Posted by adee-gee

I've now got the 3rd seed in the 2nd round next week and fear one of the biggest humilations of my career

So I've got this match tomorrow night, I've been delaying it as long as possible to try and find my form but it's gotta be played by the weekend. Backhand is still a huge liability, and this bastard I'm playing trains for like 8 hours every day with an academy while some of us have to work because we don't have parents funding a tennis "career" which is going nowhere

I'll be happy with 3 games, I'll need to serve well though

[fast_clay]

Originally Posted by adee-gee

So I've got this match tomorrow night, I've been delaying it as long as possible to try and find my form but it's gotta be played by the weekend. Backhand is still a huge liability, and this bastard I'm playing trains for like 8 hours every day with an academy while some of us have to work because we don't have parents funding a tennis "career" which is going nowhere

I'll be happy with 3 games, I'll need to serve well though

what surface mate...? turn it into a shit fest... academy players usually are fantastic when you give them a good length and deeper... cos thats the nature of drilling academies... dont usually work on short sh!t and anti-rhythm...

last weekend made my comeback to tournament play for the first time since march on a long weekend tournament... in west ireland... there are two tournaments at this club, and the open in May/June is actually featured on Rod Laver's titles record... so, i make my mandatory pilgrimage ... hurricane conditions = mug conditions... same as last year, and, so caused the 1st day to be entirely washed out... the west of ireland is like a wind break for the rest of europe... diabolical... atlantic breeze..? umm... no such thing...

wet, soaked carpet, socks needing changing after each match... played a fair bit on synthetic grass, but, the ball sits up on syn grass in oz... to add to the mugness of the situation, they fukt my entry up and put me in the mixed and dubs instead of the singles and dubs... so... were forced to draw me against the 4th seed upon re-entry... anyways, got around 6/7 6/3 6/3 in 2hrs45... then, 1/4's up after 20 minutes break... 6/2 6/4 up... and.. semis 2 hours later... down 1 n 4 to the 2nd seed who got me by the same score 16 months ago...

there is a saying in cricket where i come from: 'shit gets wickets' ... you could be bowling a superbly, much better than your mug friend for 8 overs straight with no result, but, your mate could come on straight after, bowl totally sh!te, and leave the field with figures of 5/9...

i feel the same way about those mug conditions on wet, outdoor carpet... you could be a lot better, or a lot worse than somebody, but, in mug conditions, tennis becomes the ultimate equaliser... after playing outdoor here a few times... i went straight back indoor for 9 months thinking - 'f*** that for a joke'... today... its a mental and tactical exercise against these local players who grew up in conditions like these... and...also, drinking exercise, like this particular open tourney...

[Bernard Black]

Originally Posted by adee-gee

So I've got this match tomorrow night, I've been delaying it as long as possible to try and find my form but it's gotta be played by the weekend. Backhand is still a huge liability, and this bastard I'm playing trains for like 8 hours every day with an academy while some of us have to work because we don't have parents funding a tennis "career" which is going nowhere

I'll be happy with 3 games, I'll need to serve well though

These academy kids aren't always necessarily that good, and all the pressure will be on him to win so just go out there, play your best and make every shot count.

Good luck mate, give 'em hell

[Bernard Black]

Originally Posted by fast_clay

what surface mate...? turn it into a shit fest... academy players usually are fantastic when you give them a good length and deeper... cos thats the nature of drilling academies... dont usually work on short sh!t and anti-rhythm...

last weekend made my comeback to tournament play for the first time since march on a long weekend tournament... in west ireland... there are two tournaments at this club, and the open in May/June is actually featured on Rod Laver's titles record... so, i make my mandatory pilgrimage ... hurricane conditions = mug conditions... same as last year, and, so caused the 1st day to be entirely washed out... the west of ireland is like a wind break for the rest of europe... diabolical... atlantic breeze..? umm... no such thing...

wet, soaked carpet, socks needing changing after each match... played a fair bit on synthetic grass, but, the ball sits up on syn grass in oz... to add to the mugness of the situation, they fukt my entry up and put me in the mixed and dubs instead of the singles and dubs... so... were forced to draw me against the 4th seed upon re-entry... anyways, got around 6/7 6/3 6/3 in 2hrs45... then, 1/4's up after 20 minutes break... 6/2 6/4 up... and.. semis 2 hours later... down 1 n 4 to the 2nd seed who got me by the same score 16 months ago...

there is a saying in cricket where i come from: 'shit gets wickets' ... you could be bowling a superbly, much better than your mug friend for 8 overs straight with no result, but, your mate could come on straight after, bowl totally sh!te, and leave the field with figures of 5/9...

i feel the same way about those mug conditions on wet, outdoor carpet... you could be a lot better, or a lot worse than somebody, but, in mug conditions, tennis becomes the ultimate equaliser... after playing outdoor here a few times... i went straight back indoor for 9 months thinking - 'f*** that for a joke'... today... its a mental and tactical exercise against these local players who grew up in conditions like these... and...also, drinking exercise, like this particular open tourney...

Hahaha, I definitely know what you mean about the conditions. Had a friendly game on Sunday and from one end the serves were bombing down wind assisted at an incredible speed, made for some laughs. Trying to return the ball with any interest into the headwind was nigh on impossible and any time I got the ball back beyond the service line was a huge success!

I played in a local Winter League last season but I'm going to give it a miss this year, too many bad memories of trying to toss the ball on serve from a completely numbed hand from the cold!

The British winter is definitely a good excuse to hit the indoor courts

[Lopez]

Yeah mug tennis, I have some experiences unfortunately of the matter.

I'm pretty frustrated with my forehand at the moment, it's my stronger and better baseline wing, but as of late it has been missing a bit. I tend to hit it too much with the arm and use the wrist too little. I'm working on it, and I get great shots when I concentrate but sometimes when I'm out of focus the problem resumes. Annoying.

Also I have this thing with my one-handed backhand that if I don't hit it properly or at least try to hit it properly, that's hard with good topspin, I won't be able to hit it the whole match. It's part mental and part physical, the shoulder and arm somehow don't warm up to the topspin shot and I have to slice most of the time. Frustrating.

At least my serve is working, I used to have a big problem with DFs for a few years because I had trouble figuring out the right motion to a proper spin and kick serve. Now I'm pretty much all over it. Also since I've been going to the gym for a half a year now, my first serve has cranked up nicely. Would be cool to serve to radar .

The negative side of gaining mass however is that my fitness level has gone down a bit. I'm really fast and a good mover, but after a couple of hard points I'm sweating like Nalbandian . When I hit top form some year ago I ran 3100 in the Cooper test, I'd be scared to find out what it is now...

[adee-gee]

Man I'm gutted

So I play my match tonight. I've never experienced anything like it, this guy is hitting with more topspin than Nadal. Even on indoor carpet, I'm hitting the ball from above my shoulders, it was obscene. The thing is, there wasn't much I could do, I hate the lighting indoors and struggle to take balls out the air, so I'm reluctant to come in. Anyway, my first serve % in the first set is down at about 20%, and I can't keep the ball in play because of all this ridiculous topspin coming at me. I have about 15 game points in total in the first set but manage to blow them all and get bagelled for the first time in ages

2nd set starts out and is pretty much the same story. So I'm trailing 6-0 4-1* after about 40 mins and heading for one of the biggest humiliations I've had on a tennis court. And then I decide to start playing ridiculously well, and come back to 4-4. At *4-5 down, I save a match point and take the set to the tie break, I feel like I'm the better player now and I'm pretty confident that if I take this set, there's a very good chance I can go on to win the match. At *5-5 in the tie break, he hits a backhand which seems for all the world it's going in the net. It clips the net and dribbles over. I am furious, not even a hint of an apology, he celebrates like he's just won Wimbledon. Then hits a big serve and I net my return to lose. Hugely frustrating

[GlennMirnyi]

Seems you now know how Federer feels.

Poor Adam...

[adee-gee]

he's the GOAT, I'm just a novice. I shouldn't be subjected to such things

[GlennMirnyi]

It's the same thing, on different levels.

I bet you'd prefer a faster carpet.

[Bernard Black]

Originally Posted by adee-gee

Man I'm gutted

So I play my match tonight. I've never experienced anything like it, this guy is hitting with more topspin than Nadal. Even on indoor carpet, I'm hitting the ball from above my shoulders, it was obscene. The thing is, there wasn't much I could do, I hate the lighting indoors and struggle to take balls out the air, so I'm reluctant to come in. Anyway, my first serve % in the first set is down at about 20%, and I can't keep the ball in play because of all this ridiculous topspin coming at me. I have about 15 game points in total in the first set but manage to blow them all and get bagelled for the first time in ages

2nd set starts out and is pretty much the same story. So I'm trailing 6-0 4-1* after about 40 mins and heading for one of the biggest humiliations I've had on a tennis court. And then I decide to start playing ridiculously well, and come back to 4-4. At *4-5 down, I save a match point and take the set to the tie break, I feel like I'm the better player now and I'm pretty confident that if I take this set, there's a very good chance I can go on to win the match. At *5-5 in the tie break, he hits a backhand which seems for all the world it's going in the net. It clips the net and dribbles over. I am furious, not even a hint of an apology, he celebrates like he's just won Wimbledon. Then hits a big serve and I net my return to lose. Hugely frustrating

Unlucky mate, but your post doesn't belong in this thread since you clearly didn't play mug tennis. To take a serious player to a tie-break and have him worried like that is a great effort, so be proud of yourself.

Most players would have tanked at 6-0, 4-1, you are truly a Spartan